


Septics Assemble

by The_WritersBlock



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Gen, Sean McLoughlin Egos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-04 20:58:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17311751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_WritersBlock/pseuds/The_WritersBlock
Summary: The Septiceye team split up a long time ago. But when one of their members goes missing, they are forced to assemble once again to save him. Will the team stay together despite their old arguments? Or will their newest adversary use the Heroes' insecurities against them for their own gain?I guess we'll just have to see.





	1. Static

*Message Begin.*

“Jackie!!” The old monitor crackled to life, showing a fuzzy face that glitched around the the screen. The audio cut out for a moment, then the voice came through again. “Are you there?! No one else is responding! I can't- I need-” A loud crash sounded on the other end, and there was some audible shuffling as the screen went completely black with a fizzle. “You must be closer to me than the others, because my- my powers aren't- aren't…” There was heavy breathing, followed by another crackle of static. “I… I've really done it this time, Jackie. I shouldn't have gone alone.” There was another crash, this time much closer to the receiver. “I should've swallowed my pride, but I didn't and now I'm paying for it.” He paused, waiting to see if the person that was hopefully on the other end would respond. “I think… I think your monitor's broken, Jackieboy. And… I'm pretty sure that was my fault, wasn't it?” He sucked in a breath, voice shaking slightly as another bang came from the right. “Don’t try to find me.” He chuckled, humorless. “And if you do… well… bring the rest of the boys.” A second voice appeared, laced with honey and malice,

“Found you~”

*Message End.*


	2. A Long Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvin comes home to find his house broken into. The intruder is someone he never expected to see again.

Marvin the Magnificent had finished his rounds for the night, finding himself completely burnt out as he jumped gracefully from rooftop to rooftop. The moon had been covered by clouds that night, but it wasn't a problem for him. Several of his cards were casting beams of light as they whirred around him, lighting the way. A gust of wind caught his cape, making him glide for just a few moments as he danced around chimneys. Marvin sucked in the cold night air, glancing up at the sky as a few snowflakes began to fall. He quickened his pace despite his exhaustion. A smile came to his face as he recognized his apartment building in the distance. The hero slid down the fire escape until he neared his window, stopping in his tracks when he found it open. 

He crouched on the fire escape, cocking his ear. As he was sitting, a bird flew from its nest next to him and tweeted in his ear. Marvin's eyes widened. He bowed his head at the bird. “Thank you.” He grabbed one of his cards, then twirled it around in his fingers until it morphed into a packet of bird seed. He held out the packet and the bird took it, flying back to its nest. Marvin took a deep breath, shaking away the drowsiness. It would be no good to fall asleep in the event of a would-be attacker. He stood up, adjusting his gloves. Then, he grabbed the rail of the fire escape and flipped over it, propelling him into his living room. 

When he landed he spied the intruder immediately in the darkened room. He snatched one of his cards from his belt as fast as he could and held it face up in his palm. “Sleep.” He breathed on the card and a purple dust cloud emerged. But the other person dodged the magic, ducking under it and rolling to the side. Marvin grunted, throwing his arms forward. Thin, silver cards flew out of his sleeves, catching the intruder by their clothing and pinning them to the door. 

“Hey! Marv! What the hell was that?!” The attacker sounded suspiciously familiar to Marvin. He stood up straight in his surprise. “Yeah. It's me. Can you let me go?” Marvin clapped his hands together twice and the lights came on. Standing in front of him was none other than his fellow hero Jackieboy Man. He flashed a grin from his place on the door, gesturing to the cards. “I can totally escape this, but I don't wanna break your cards. Can you call them off?” Marvin stood completely dumbfounded for a moment, before he stalked forward, thrusting a finger in Jackie's face.

“What the fuck are you doing? I thought I told you I never wanted to see your damn face ever again!” Marvin snarled, glaring into Jackie's masked eyes.

Jackie's eyes lost their humor, glancing at Marvin's face. “You grew out your hair.” 

Marvin took a step back in surprise. “What?”

Jackie smiled, looking the hero up and down, before resting his eyes on the bun on the top of his head. “I like it. I think it really suits you, Marv.” Marvin felt his face heat up, turning away as he waved a hand in Jackie's direction. The sharpened cards holding Jackie upright turned into red and black butterflies, which flew over to Marvin and fused into the design on his cape. 

Marvin shook his head. “Asshole.” He lifted his mask off and placed it on a table, his gloves and cape floating away to rest on a rack in the corner. Jackie averted his eyes from the scars on Marvin's face, pushing his own blue mask down around his neck. “Why are you even here?.” He rolled his eyes. 

Jackie looked down at his hands, then forced himself to meet Marvin's mismatched eyes. “It's Anti.” 

Marvin paused for a moment, then shrugged. “What about him?” Jackie's shoulders began to shake, and Marvin turned around in surprise when he heard quiet sniffles. His heart sank. “Jackie? What happened?” Jackieboy tried to open his mouth, but broke down as tears made tracks on his rosy cheeks. He sat down on Marvin's couch, head in his hands. 

He mumbled out a string of words, heaving as he tried to breathe. “He- I don't-... I couldn't save him. It was… it was too late when I tracked the signal.”

“What? What are you talking about?” Marvin sat down next to Jackie, shaking his shoulders slightly.

Jackie turned to Marvin, his chest heaving unevenly. “Anti sent me a distress call. He was fighting a villain and they caught him. When I tracked his signature there was nothing there. Just an old demolition site.” 

Marvin couldn't believe what he was hearing. “Anti... Anti didn't win? They took him?! Where?!” 

Jackieboy shook his head. “I don't know. I'm lost, Marvin. I can't find him. You can't find him. I was hoping you'd know where-” Jackie started to cough, and Marvin patted his back awkwardly.

“Where Sean is?” Jackie looked up in hope, but Marvin sighed. “I’m the last person he'd tell his location to. He doesn't talk to me. No one does.” Marvin stared forward, at the mirror. “Well…actually… that's not entirely true.” Marvin pushed some of the loose hair out of his eyes, contemplating if he was really gonna do this.

Jackie questioned him, “What? Who do you keep up with?”

Marvin met Jackie's eyes. “Schneep.” 

 

Hero Profile: Jackieboy Man  
True Name: Jack “Jackie” Carson   
Affiliation(s): The Septiceyes  
Colors: Bright Red, Bright Blue  
Powers/Abilities: Jackieboy Man Has A Distinct Healing Factor Of The Above Average Grade. This Hero Exhibits Levels Of Extreme Super Strength And Speed. He Can Also Resist High Pressures And Altitudes, Enabling Him To Fly Well Into Earth's Atmosphere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are liking it so far! I'm trying to keep my chapters over 1,000 words but if they're too short I'm sorry about that. 
> 
> Take care of yourselves and have a lovely day! <3


	3. Bump in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two heroes leave to find their old doctor friend. But another old teammate interrupts them on their way.

“Really? Where is he?” Jackieboy Man watched as Marvin dashed around the room, collecting items and stuffing them up his sleeves or swallowing them with his cape. He picked up a backpack and threw it over to Jackie, rolling his eyes. 

“He's in Seattle. Told me there was a hospital there with good pay and no curious eyes.” 

Jackie looked in the backpack, finding it empty. A familiar thought tickled at the back of his head, but he couldn't seem to place it. “What's this for? I already have my supplies.” Jackie gestured to his belt, which had several pockets for anything he needed. 

Marvin sighed, snatching the bag and laying it open on the floor. “Try to think smart, for once Jackie. I've been patrolling all night. I need to recharge. The bag isn't for you. It's for me.” Marvin closed his eyes as he put his mask back on. He twirled his hands in a complicated set of motions, creating a blue magic circle in the air. “Shift.” The magic sparked, then exploded, turning Marvin a shade of blue as he transformed. When Jackie looked down, Marvin was now in his cat form. He gave Jackie the best contemptuous look he could manage as he stepped into the bag. 

Jackie put his hands to his face. “That’s right! This bag is your magic one. Awww Marv! You look adorable! I forgot how cute you look as a cat.” Marvin meowed loudly, and Jackie sighed as he crouched down. “Sorry. That was over the line.” He stuck a hand out, scratching behind Marvin's ears a little. Then, Jackie took the bag and closed it, swinging it onto his back. He clapped twice and all the lights turned off, then he crawled out onto the fire escape. He shut the window and adjusted his mask, then leapt into the snow-filled air, flying into the night sky. He flew above the clouds, glancing at the stars for directions. He corrected his course and sped up to his top flight speed. This would be a long night. 

 

The pair of them had only been flying for an hour when something happened. Jackie's earpiece crackled and fizzled, making strange noises. “What the-” 

“Jackieboy?” The foreign voice startled him. He stopped, his change of speed making the clouds swirl around him. He looked around, only seeing the dark sky and twinkling stars. “Jackie?” This time, the voice was clear. Jackie's eyes widened.

“Anti?” Jackie kept spinning, starting to go lower now. “Where are you?! What happened?!”

Anti answered him. “I don't remember. I'm underneath you.” Jackie barely heard him, only that he was right here. He looked down, and flew as fast as he could. Jackie found himself over a lake, surrounded by thick woods. He hovered just above the waves, sending ripples that disappeared into the thick fog coming off the water. 

“Anti?! I can't see you!” Jackie started to spin around again, trying to catch a glimpse of his friend on the tree line. 

“That was the idea.” Suddenly, Jackie felt a sharp pain in the back of his shoulder. He was jerked backwards, out of the air and onto the ground. He blinked away the dizziness, glancing around and finding the bag that held Marvin was no longer on his person. He pushed himself to his feet, then craned his neck to see what had lodged itself in his shoulder. He found the culprit to be a long, thin knife, with a thick chain attached to the handle. 

“What the-” The chain was pulled taught again, but Jackie held strong, grabbing the knife and taking it out of his back. The knife was pulled out of his hand and snatched by the darkness, disappearing into the fog. Jackie rolled his shoulder, grunting in pain. He probably couldn't carry the bag the same way for a little while. 

“To be honest, Jackaboy, I didn't think it would be this easy.” Another blade emerged from the trees but Jackie dodged it, jumping to the side. The chain swung in a large arc, aiming for Jackie's neck. He grabbed it and pulled, snapping the chain. Before Jackie could revel in his small victory, several more smaller knives flew out, sticking themselves in his legs and arms. Then, all of them were pulled at once, forcing the hero to the ground and yanking him across the forest floor. He stopped several feet into the trees, and the knives were all pulled free simultaneously. He groaned, opening his eyes to see bare feet. He tried to look up but the other person beat him to it, grabbing Jackie's cape and lifting him off the ground. They were eye to eye now, and Jackie couldn't believe it.

Anti chuckled. “You seem surprised to see me, Jackie. I thought you were looking for me.” Jackie just stared at him, dumbfounded.

“You're not Anti.” 

Anti rolled his eyes. “Who knows? You haven't seen me in awhile. I could be.” 

Jackie growled, grabbing Anti's wrists. “Anti doesn't use knives.”

Anti giggled, and Jackie's blood turned cold when his eyes went black. “He does now.” Anti threw Jackie against a tree, watching as the wounded hero slumped over in pain. “Just give up. You're coming with me anyway. It would be a lot faster if you cooperated.” He stalked forward, shaking his head as Jackie stood up shakily. He threw another knife, lodging it in Jackie's thigh. He screamed in pain, pulling it out and letting it fall out of his weak fingers. “I don't feel like dealing with your superspeed right now.” Jackieboy turned his fearful eyes on Anti, watching as he pulled more knives from his belt. Jackie jumped into the air, trying to fly to reach Marvin, but Anti grabbed his cape and swung him into a tree. The thick wood splintered behind Jackie's weight. He pushed off of it, flying several feet before falling again. He scrambled to his knees and crawled out of the trees, trying to find the backpack. He screamed when another knife was thrown into the back of his calf. Anti laughed as he dragged Jackie by the chain. “You seem scared, Jackie. Is someone still feeling inadequate?” 

Jackieboy turned around on his back, gulping. “Wh-what?”

Anti leaned down, grinning. “You still think you're the least special. The least important person on the team, don't you?”

“I don't-” 

“You do! And it's all true. Every bit of it. They still think the same way. You are still just the ‘other one.’ The guy they needed to fill the roster, to be a real team.” 

Jackie shook his head. “That's not true.” Anti chuckled, stabbing Jackie through his other shoulder. 

The hero screamed as Anti shrugged. “Don't try to fool yourself. You know it's true. You always have.” Anti leaned down lower, meeting Jackie's eyes. “Now say it.” Suddenly, a bolt of electricity crashed into Anti, sending him flying backwards into a tree. Jackie looked back to see Marvin, with a card in each hand. The magician struck the cards together as if they were a flint and steel. Another burst of lightning sprang forward, blasting Anti through the tree and back farther into the woods. Marvin ran forward, and started to pull the knives out of Jackieboy. 

“Jackie who the fuck is that?” 

Jackie winced as Marvin struggled with the large knife in his shoulder. “I don't know. But it's definitely not Anti. Can you get us out of here?” 

Marvin mumbled a quiet apology as he ripped the large knife and chain out of Jackie's leg. “I'm not up to one hundred percent. But that won't matter if you die.” Marvin sprang to his feet as his fingers lit up with bright white sparks. He started burning a circle into the ground, mumbling more words as it formed. Jackie sat up, shakily getting to his feet and limping beside the magic circle. Marvin finished the spell, wiping his brow as he stood up. “That should do it.” Marvin walked over to his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. “Let's hope Schneep-” Marvin trailed off as his eyes scanned the woods. He tugged Jackie behind him and in the circle, ready to go if they needed to. Marvin felt Jackie's ragged breath on his neck and shivered. He needed to focus. Then, Anti stepped out of the woods.

“You think you can run but I'll-” Anti froze at the sight of Marvin. “How are you here?! It was only supposed to be Jackieboy Man!” 

Marvin looked Anti up and down. “Is me being here ruining something?” 

Anti growled and snarled, backing up slowly. “This won't change anything. I'll still make you mine soon enough.” Marvin sighed in relief when Anti was finally gone. He moved Jackieboy to be standing next to him, huffing to himself when he remembered how much taller the other hero was.

“Let's go.” He glanced at Jackieboy, staring into his bright blue eyes. “Maybe he'll patch you up, for old times sake.” The pair of them looked up as the circle started glowing, then enveloped them in white light that shot up into the sky.

 

Hero Profile: Marvin the Magnificent  
True Name: Marvin (Last Name Redacted)  
Affiliation(s): The Septiceyes, The Ipliers  
Colors: Dark Red, Black, Dark Blue  
Powers/Abilities: Marvin The Magnificent Utilizes His Energy To Perform Feats Of Magic. He Draws His Power Out By Writing A Complex Code Word, Usually In The Form Of A Magic Circle. Marvin The Magnificent Also Uses Many Different Tools To Draw Out His Own Energy Better, Such As Playing Cards.


	4. The Good Doctor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Schneep helps them out. Begrudgingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that these have been short! I'm trying to write more but my semester is ending and my teachers are trying to cram our final units in.
> 
> Excuses aside, please tell me how you like it so far! It's gonna get exciting soon, I promise. Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day! <3

The superhero Dr. Schneeplestein had stopped practicing hero work several years prior. But that did not mean he didn't save lives. His boss at the small hospital had recognized him, as did a few of his doctor friends, but he was so far away from his old station in New York City that most people didn't recognize him. He was in the later half of a night shift when he heard a loud commotion at the entrance to the ER. He looked up just in time to see one of his associates come sprinting around the corner. 

“Doctor! There's a hero who seems to have sustained multiple stab wounds in his extremities, as well as his upper chest area.” She bit her lip, glancing around. “Do you want to take him? They usually prefer someone like you.” Schneep nodded. 

“Yez. Get him veady for me.” He leaned down, whispering in the woman's ear. “And, uh, have someone vatch ze outzide. Ve don't know if zhere iz a villian close behind.” She nodded, sprinting back down the hall. Schneep sighed, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose. Heroes were rare in this area of the country. Not much organized crime, no major villains. But of course, rare doesn't mean non-existent. Schneep hoped this hero didn't know who he was. Maybe he would respect his boundaries. Schneeplestein replaced his glasses and walked down the hall, nodding to doctors and greeting others as he went. He stopped at the entrance to the hero care wing, steeling himself. Then, he went over to the first room and opened the door. 

When he looked up, he found his hand stuck to the doorknob. His mouth hung open as he looked between the two heroes in the room, almost unbelieving. Standing in the flesh were two of his past teammates. Marvin the Magnificent and Jackieboy Man. 

“Woah. Doc, you look really good.”

That broke him out of it. “You FUCKAH!!” Schneep advanced on Marvin, pushing him against the wall as he pulled a scalpel from his coat pocket. “You could have gone to any fucking hospital that was clozer but NO!!” He waved his scalpel around furiously, making Marvin nervous. “I truzted you vith my location but you brought zhat TRAITAH back into my zight!!” He pointed the tool at Jackieboy. 

Marvin put his hands up defensively. “Woah. Wait. We all may have been split on some things but he wasn't a-” 

“Traitor?? Yez! He and Sean and Chase sold uz out to zah highest biddah!!” 

Jackieboy grunted, “Hey! That's not what it was like at all! We-” Schneep turned around in the blink of an eye, releasing Marvin and stomping over to Jackie. 

“Not anozah word out ov you! You dare come back here aftah-” Schneep seemed to finally see Jackie, and he lowered the scalpel. “You're injured.” He stuffed the tool back in his pocket and approached the bedside, glancing at all the points where Jackie was bleeding. 

Marvin gained the courage to speak again, moving to join the Doctor. “We were on our way to find you...” 

Schneep glared at Marvin, rolling his eyes. “Not anozah word. You've put me in ah bad mood.” 

“...and we got ambushed, and Jackie-” Schneep turned to Marvin with a fire in his eyes. He grabbed Marvin's nearest arm, twisting it around and poking at the joint with two of his fingers. Marvin broke away, looking down at his arm which was now completely limp. “Hey!” Schneep yelled in anger, spinning Marvin around and pinching his back in several places. The magician fell to the floor, completely unable to move his limbs. “What was that for?!”

Schneep scowled. “I said not anozah word!!! I am trying to focus and you've already pissed me off enough today!” Marvin opened his mouth but Schneep beat him to it. “Do you want to be unconscious??” Schneep put his two fingers together again and poised to strike. “I can do zat too, you know!” Marvin shut up and Schneeplestein stood to his feet. He took off his glasses and blinked a couple times, glancing over Jackie's body. He huffed. “No broken bonez. Doezn't zound like you have a concussion but I do not have CAT-Scan vision.” He looked at the smaller cuts, nodding when he found that they were healing like normal. He walked over to Jackie's shoulder, and frowned when he saw that the wound hadn't even begun to close. He examined the others that looked the same and looked up at Jackie. “Vy are zese different?” 

Jackie shrugged. “I don't know. Some of the knives had chains attached to them.”

Schneep narrowed his eyes. “And were zese chainz used to pull you around or hold you in place?” When Jackie nodded, Schneep turned on Marvin. He grabbed him by his collared shirt and lifted him in the air. “You fucking removed ze knivez incorrectly!!” 

Marvin's head rolled to the side, and Schneep straightened it for him as he spoke. “I wanted to let him start healing! How would I know if they were different?!” Schneep flicked his cheek lightly, but the action made Marvin's entire head loll to the other side. 

“Common sense, Marvin!! If zhe blades vere uzed to move him, zhey must have hookz attached to keep zhem in place! Zhe hookz are still inside of Jackie, and zhat's vhy he von't heal!! Reiß dich zusammen, dumme Katze!” He dropped Marvin back onto the floor, leaving him in an unceremonial heap. He came back to Jackie, and snapped gloves onto his hands. “Zhis vill be quick if you stay still!” Schneep pressed several of Jackie's pressure points in the blink of an eye, and immediately started working on his right shoulder.

He took off his glasses and tilted his head, beginning to search the wound for a metal object. He soon found it, and used his tweezers to get it out. Schneep repeated this process on the rest of Jackie's deep wounds, sewing them all up after he was done. Schneep grabbed a roll of bandages and wrapped a hefty amount over every entry point, taking care to make sure that Jackie was still feeling numb. The Doctor pulled his gloves off after he was done and threw them in the trash, then helped Jackie roll out his muscles to regain their use. He did the same to Marvin and sat down in a chair, arms crossed.

“Now. Vhy vere you two looking for me and who attacked you on zhe way?” Marvin looked at Jackieboy, and he sat up straighter in his bed.

“I… I got a distress call from Anti.” Schneep nodded, his expression only faltering for a moment. “And when I tracked him, he just-... wasn't there. The villain he was fighting must've taken him away, or- or, I don't know. But he was gone.” Jackie looked out the window wistfully. “Well I got Marvin and we decided that Sean was the only person left who could find him.”

Schneep nodded, finally understanding. “I see. But neizah of you know vhere Sean iz so you decided to find me.”

Jackie nodded. “Exactly. But while we were flying Anti hacked into my earpiece and told me to come down.” 

Marvin interrupted before Schneep could comment. “Only it wasn't Anti! It couldn't have been. He was the one who hurt Jackie.”

Jackie put his hand up to his shoulder, rubbing it absentmindedly. “He told me he was gonna take me away somewhere. If Marvin wasn't there… he probably would have succeeded.”

Schneep rubbed his eyes as he leaned forward in his chair. “Zhis is worse zhan I thought. Ve can only assume zhat Anti haz been taken or mind controlled by some bastahd villain.” Schneep stood up, clapping his hands together. “Vell?? Let's go save zhat asshole!” 

Jackie moved to exit the bed, grunting as Marvin helped him up. “You know where Sean is?” Schneep let out a long belly laugh, leaning backwards. 

He snapped forward, pointing a finger at Jackie. “No! But I know who does!” Schneep's eyes lit up with a deadly gleam. “Zhe only person Sean vould ever give hiz location to would be zomeone who cannot tell!” Schneep laughed again as he threw open their door, his voice echoing as he ran down the hall. “But I am zure if we give Jamie a vizit and rough him up a bit he'll let it slip, eh?”

 

Hero Profile: The Good Doctor/Doctor Schneeplestein  
True Name: Henrik Von Schneeplestein  
Affiliation(s): The Septiceyes  
Colors: White, Black, Light Blue  
Powers/Abilities: The Good Doctor Has A Slight Healing Factor. He Has A Very Hyper-Sensitive Strain Of X-Ray Vision, Even Going So Far As To Penetrate Lead. Doctor Schneeplestein Is Very Adept It Kyusho Jitsu, Or Pressure Point Fighting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited the last couple chapters because I forgot to add the little hero summary at the bottom. Feel free to look back and check them out!


	5. Rainy Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three of them need to pick up Chase before they can go see Jamie, but someone else gets to him first.

Schneep's coat billowed behind him as he led the way through the damp streets. Marvin, for the fourth time, wished the Doctor could be of some help with supporting Jackieboy.

“Why don't you have a car or something?” Marvin shivered as a gust of wind blew fat raindrops into his face, making his long hair stick to his forehead. Jackie had his hood to help shield some of the weather, but he was still soaked through. 

Schneep laughed. “And ruin my daily walks?” To punctuate his statement, a stronger wind gust made him teeter to the side, before he regained his balance. “My vork is close! Besidez… Chase takes zeh bus to get to zah bar.” Marvin and Jackie shared a look, speeding up to match Schneeplestein's speed. 

Jackie looked at Schneep, and his hood flew off of his head with the movement. “Chase lives with you now? What happened between him and Stacy?” 

Schneep brought his hands up to blow on them, then took them away to speak sadly, “Divorced. She kicked him out and he had nowvhere to go.” Schneep blew on his hands once more, then rubbed them together several times before stuffing them back into his pockets. “He renounced hero work. Sayz it izn't vorth it vhen he haz nothing to fight for anymore.” The doctor glanced back at Jackie and Marvin, shaking his head. “Ze only gun he uzes now iz for hiz own head.” Schneep chuckled, dark and humorless. “Of courze, zhat von't evah work, now vill it?” 

The three heroes soon made it to Schneep's house. The doctor climbed the steps, fishing for his keys. He glanced up as he made it to the door and froze. The door was sitting open a crack. He turned to the other two and put a finger to his lips, jerking his head at the open entryway. Then, Schneep crept forward, one hand in his pocket and the other in his pressure point position. He nudged the door open with his shoe, glancing around the dark room as it swung with a loud creak. He walked into the living room, glancing back as Marvin got his cards ready and Jackie clenched and unclenched his fists. He took off his glasses and looked up, shaking his head.

“No one iz upstairz.” He looked around the living room and blinked a couple times, looking through the staircase and into the hallway behind it. He sucked in a breath, looking back at Jackie and Marvin. “Chase iz here. And Anti iz vith him.” Schneep put his glasses in his pocket and pulled out his scalpel, walking forward as quietly as he could manage. He pointed out obstacles to the other two heroes, nudging alcohol bottles out of the way with his feet and pointing to where creaky floorboards were. They soon made it to Chase's room, and the three of them listened at the door as Anti's voice carried out clearly. 

“Everyone else was free. You were the only one who had a burdon. A family. You always held them back, with your misplaced love and compassion. You and your ties kept the team from moving onto greater things. Isn't that right, Chase?”

Chase sobbed and sobbed, his hands shaking as he ran them through his hair. “No- I- I didn't mean to…” 

Anti giggled. “It's true though, isn't it? You know that.” Chase shook his head weakly, and Anti snarled as he grabbed his chin, forcing him forward. “Say it Chase. Tell me I'm right.” Chase blinked away his tears, closing his eyes as he nodded once. But that wasn't good enough for Anti. He tightened his grip on Chase's face. “This doesn't work unless you say it. I need you to admit it with your own voice. So tell me, were you the one who held everyone back?” 

Chase mumbled out a single word. “Yes.” As soon as Chase said it his eyes went pitch black and his body went limp in Anti's grip. Anti laughed, throwing Chase over his shoulder and turning towards the door.

“You were too easy. Now, let's see if we can-” Anti got cut off by the door slamming against the wall. Schneep twirled his scalpel in his fingers, getting into a low position.

“Step avay from him you fuckah!” Anti glanced at the clock on the bedside, then back to Schneep.

“You weren't supposed to come back until midnight!!” Marvin furrowed his brow, glancing at Jackieboy on the other side of the door.

Schneep growled as he pointed his weapon at Anti. “Vell, considering Anti hazn't curzed once in zis converzation, my mind iz made up. You clearly aren't him!” Schneep lunged forward, but gasped when Chase stuck his arm in the way. The scalpel bounced off of Chase's bulletproof skin, and Schneep reeled back to see Anti grinning.

“Chase may be quite stupid right now, but we'll work on that once I've gotten you, too!” He glanced at Chase as he stood stock still, staring blankly at the wall. Then, Chase held out his hand. His main gun appeared in the air and dropped into his palm. Then, Chase performed the movement he had practiced over a million times. With lightning speed, Chase cocked the gun and fired, but not before Marvin had tackled Schneep out of the way. Anti's eyes narrowed. “How did you two get here? I thought Doctor Schneeplestein liked his privacy?” He glanced at Chase again, whose arm had not moved from his previous firing position. He groaned in annoyance. “Chase dear. Please continue. I did not say to stop.” At the verbal command, Chase seemed more willing.

He expelled the old shell from the chamber and summoned another one to replace it in the blink of an eye. He spun quicker this time, summoning a second gun as he shot at both Marvin and Schneep. The doctor darted out of the way and made a quick jab at one of Chase's back points, but nothing happened. Schneep cursed, blaming his failure on Chase's very literal thick skin. Chase swiveled at the doctor’s touch but was tackled off the bed by Jackieboy Man. The two of them struggled for a moment before Jackie was able to grab Chase’s wrists. He held them until Anti kicked him off, sending Jackie flying into the other wall. Chase sat up robotically and shot at Jackie’s head. The hero moved out of the way just in time as Marvin leapt over him and blew on a card. 

“Sleep!” This time, the purple dust found their mark as Chase breathed it in. He sat straight for a second more, before his guns slipped out of his hands and he fell face forward into the carpet. 

“No!” Anti growled, turning on Marvin. “Magicians ruin everything!” He pulled out one of his knives, grinning as the sickly green color. He threw it at Marvin as the hero scrambled to get out of the way. Luckily, it missed, only grazing Marvin’s arm. Marvin retaliated, smashing his cards together. They made a loud popping noise, then they started to smoke. Marvin threw the cards on the ground as Jackieboy and Schneep left the room with Chase. “Wait! Stop!” Anti screamed at them as Marvin slammed the door closed. He waved his fingers around in a small magic circle, then snapped to lock the door. The four of them fled the house as Marvin’s cards went off with a loud bang. The explosion ripped a hole in the house’s roof, debris flying everywhere. They continued to run, with Jackieboy carrying Chase in his arms.

Finally, the four of them ducked into an alleyway to rest. Schneep looked back the way they had come and decided that they weren’t being followed. He tended to whatever injuries there were, before trying to get at Chase. Schneep sat back on his haunches, scratching his beard. “If ve are doing zis, zhen me and Chase here vill vant our suits.” He glanced at Marvin. “Do you still carry our spares?” Marvin nodded. He opened his bag and reached down into it, his whole arm going in. 

After a moment, he huffed in annoyance. “Let me get a better look. We haven’t used them in awhile, so they’re gonna be closer to the bottom.” Marvin pulled his arm out and stuck his head in the bag, crawling forward until he was waist-deep. From inside, his voice was muffled. “Ugh. This is why I only use this thing when I’m a cat. Way too tight.” There was more shuffling, and Marvin was up to his knees before he had found anything. He shimmied his way out of the bag and handed Schneep two lumps of clothing. “Found 'em.” The doctor started to unwrap his suit, shaking his head at the sight. He unfurled the chest, eyes softening when they landed on his logo. He stared at the soft blue and white colors, then brought the suit to his nose. He breathed in deeply, laughing as he brought it away from his face.

“How did zhat fuckah do it?!” He shook the costume at the sky. “It still smellz like Lebkuchen! How zah fuck did you manage zhat, asshole!” Schneep broke down into another fit of laughter. “Hundreds of washez and seven yearz in a washed-up hero’s magic sack!” He shook his head as his chuckles died down. “Ah, Jamie. Ve didn’t deserve you.” Jackie smiled as he sewed up the cuts in his suit. He was also one of the ones that Jamie made a costume for. He winced as he looked down at his patching job. If the hero were here now, he’d surely beat Jackie over the head with a blunt object in response to ruining his fine work. Marvin flipped cards over in his hands thoughtfully. He glanced down at the cut that Anti had made. He opened his mouth to ask Schneep to look over it, then closed it with a snap. It was just a cut. Marvin needed to stop being so selfish. He shook his head, clearing it.

“About Jamie…” Marvin gained the attention of the other heroes as he spoke. “Where is he?” Schneep wound his suit around his hand absentmindedly. He shook his head, sighing loudly.

“See… zhats the thing.” Schneep averted his eyes for a moment, before looking up at the sky. “After zhe whole… business vith Sean and zhe government and all of us… Jamie left zhe country.” 

Jackie let his mouth hang open. “No. No way. Don’t tell me-”

Schneep nodded. “Jamie went to Japan.”

Jackieboy ran a hand through his hair. “Why the hell did Jamie decide that going to Japan was a good idea?!”

Marvin rolled his eyes. “Maybe it’s because you, Chase, and Sean decided to fuck everything up for the rest of us! At least over there he can have some protection under the vigilante laws.” Marvin rubbed his arm absentmindedly. “That's more than I’ve got right now.”

Jackie looked over at Schneep again as the doctor began to pull on his suit. “Is that why he went? He could’ve just gotten a license.”

Schneep adjusted his boots, sending Jackie a glare. “We’ve all had zhis argument before. I am not in zhe mood to have it again.”

“Maybe Jamie didn’t wanna sign his life away. Ever think of that, Jackieboy?” Marvin’s words made the other hero flinch, egging the magician on. “How much testing did you trade for your fake freedom?” 

Jackieboy’s head snapped up. “Stop. That’s not even-”

“Oh quit the bullshit. We all know they did this just to capitalize on us. And they hit two birds with one stone, taking advantage of suckers like you while they villainize unlicensed heroes like us.” Marvin pushed himself off the ground angrily, beginning to pace the alleyway. “You know they’re trying to weed us out, right? It used to be a choice but now I’m watching over my shoulder more and more every day. Why do you think I’ve been pulling night shifts?”

Jackie stood up as well, pointing a finger at Marvin’s face. “You wouldn’t have any of these problems if you were legal! Stop complaining about something you can easily solve!”

Marvin groaned, putting a hand on his hip. “Do you think I want to put a leash on myself?! No! I don't want someone looking over my shoulder all the time. I don't want them to have any power over me.”

Jackie ran a hand down his face. “That's not it at all! It's about trust, and they won't trust us if we don't.”

“Well maybe that's it then! Because I don't trust people who ask what my weaknesses are.” Marvin's hand shook for a moment. He grabbed it with his other one, holding it in place. “...I don't trust people with agendas. I don't give my loyalty to people who play both sides.”

“Unbelievable.” Jackieboy turned around, shaking his head. “They’re here to fix the problems we had. They're not here to harm.”

“Do you even remember what they did to me?” Marvin's voice came out shaky and cold. “Or did they erase the memory along with our Team's values when they messed around in your head?!” Jackieboy screamed in anger, turning around as his fists sparked. Marvin's eyes went green as several cards spilled out of his cape to fly in the air. 

“Stop.” Schneep stepped between them, putting his hands on their chests. “You remember vhat zhese gloves can do, yes?” The two heroes looked down. Schneep's hands zapped to life, electrocuting them with a heart-stopping current. “Clear!” Schneep barked loudly as the two of them fell to the ground, groaning. “You two vhere alvays zhe immature vones. Cut it out right zhis instant because zhis time it izn't some rinky dinky villain! Ve have a very important job to do, and it izn't going to get done vith you two bickering like children.” Schneep shook his hands and the electricity stopped crackling at the tips of his fingers. “Now, for all I care, you two vill nevah have to see each othah again. But right now, Anti needs our help and zhe closest link ve have at zhe moment iz Jamie.” Schneep dragged Marvin and Jackie to their feet. “Now! One ov you iz going to have to take us ovah there! Figure out vitch one and zhen have zhe othah wake up Chase!” He thrust them forward and they immediately got to work.

 

Hero Profile: Bro Average  
True Name: Chase Brody  
Affiliation(s): The Septiceyes  
Colors: Dark Red, Grey, Black  
Powers/Abilities: Bro Average Has The Power To Summon Any Weapon He Has Touched. He Is A Specialized Marksman, Therefore His Chosen Weapons Are Usually Firearms. This Hero Also Has Bulletproof Skin That Can Deflect Most Every Type Of Projectile.


	6. The Mute Watchman and Japan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They attempt to find Jamie and get more than they bargained for...

Marvin decided that he had enough energy to warp them, and began to draw the magic circle. 

Jackie walked over to Chase and sat him up against the wall. He shook him gently, and Chase's eyes blinked open groggily. “...Jackie?” 

The other nodded. “In the flesh.” 

Chase's eyes roamed the rest of the alley. “Marvin? Your costume looks different. Whoa. Doc. You have your suit on.”

Jackie laughed, thrusting Chase's bundle into his arms. “Now it's your turn, buddy.” Chase reached out and touched the soft cloth. He drew his fingers back suddenly, shaking his head.

“I can't. I… I won't.” He looked away, shaking his head.

Jackie put his hand on Chase's shoulder. “Well I won't force you. But Anti's in big trouble and we're all gonna go save him.”

Chase looked into Jackie's eyes. “Anti? He's in trouble?” Chase looked back down at his suit. He chuckled. “I knew that he'd do something eventually. That hot headed baby could never resist getting into fights.” Chase glanced over at the other people in the alley, before nodding in determination. “Well. I guess I'm gonna have to go help and save his ass. I owe him.” He slipped his mask out of the pile of clothes and placed it on his face. “Didn't think I'd ever have to play dress up again.” 

Jackie laughed, pulling Chase to his feet. “Even if it's just for a little while it's good to have you back.” Chase chuckled, waving him off as he began to undress. Jackie walked over to Marvin as he was finishing his circle. The magician had big beads of sweat running down his face. 

He wiped some away as he sat against a wall, but more sweat came to replace it. “Does it feel hot to you?” 

Jackie shook his head. “It feels pretty chilly to me.”

Marvin nodded, sighing. “Maybe it's the thicker cape. Plus, I've been based in Michigan for the past year so I guess I'm just used to the cold at this point.” Marvin stood with a grunt, picking up his backpack and closing it tightly. Soon enough Chase had finished dressing, finishing it off with his signature snapback. The four of them stepped into the circle as Marvin muttered something under his breath. The white beam of light took them into the sky and over the ocean, before landing them in another alleyway. Marvin shook off his dizziness as they stepped out into the streets.

Chase looked around. “Hey doc. We're looking for Jamie, right?” 

The doctor nodded. “He did not give me a specific location. Only that he'd be in the city with the highest vigilante population.”

Jackie groaned. “Osaka. Of course Jamie went to Osaka. That's where everybody goes.” The four of them sprinted through the darkened streets, finding it strangely silent. 

Marvin shivered. “I feel like I'm being watched.” 

Jackie looked up at the roofs of buildings. “We probably are.” Schneep and Chase hadn't kept up with the same life that Jackie and Marvin had, and therefore needed more time to rest. They had stopped at a street corner to let them catch their breath when Chase spotted something in the darkness. 

He nudged Marvin. “Hey Marv. Do you see someone over there?” Marvin followed Chase's gaze. Seeing movement, he nudged the other two heroes. The four of them watched several people come out of the shadows, with a masked woman stepping forward first. She called something out in her native language, obviously waiting for a reply.

Jackie stepped forward. “We only speak English. Do you know where we could find Ja-... The Mute Watchman?” At Jamie's hero name, the small crowd glanced at each other. Another one of them stepped forward. She put her hands on her hips.

“I speak the best english here. Why do you need to find the Watchman?” She paused, eyes narrowing. “You four look very familiar.” Her eyes scanned their group again, before landing on Jackie and Marvin's green hair. “You!! You guys are the Septics, aren't you?! The Watchman is your teammate!” The rest of her team chorused their agreement, with some nodding to each other as they pointed at the green hair. The woman pulled out two daggers as her body flashed a light yellow. “We won't have any more of you guys coming into our streets and stealing our territory. The Watchman is already a pain in our ass.” 

The woman yelled, disappearing in a flash of yellow sparks. She appeared next to Jackieboy, slashing at him with her blades. Chase stepped in the way, blocking her attack with his arms. He lunged at her, swinging at her face. His fist went through air as she disappeared again, this time appearing beside Marvin. The magician dodged her swing, flipping a card on its back and closing his fist around it. When he opened his hand there was now a thin black whip, which Marvin swung at the woman. By this time, more of her friends had engaged in the fight, with some people using powers and others fighting with normal blades. A man swung at Schneep's neck with a knife but the doctor ducked under it, snaking around the man's arm to hit his back points. Schneep moved on to another person as the man fell to the ground in a limp heap. Jackie dodged another woman's knife, wondering why none of these people were using firearms. His question would be answered when one of Chase's guns was summoned to him. At the sight of the weapon, all of their attackers stopped in their tracks. The woman who was best with English put up her hands, shaking her head. 

“Don't shoot if you want to live.” 

Chase raised an eyebrow. “Why? What happens?”

She started to back away as her skin glowed yellow again. “Be my guest and test it out if you like.” She glanced up at the sky, then shot a pointed look at their leader. “With all this noise we've been making, it's gonna come anyway.” Then, the woman teleported away. The others of the group gathered those that Schneep had incapacitated, and melted into the shadows faster than the Septics could blink. Chase's gun disappeared as he looked up at the sky.

“What do you think she meant? What's so scary?”

Marvin rubbed his arm, breathing heavily. “Well whatever it is, it's attracted by sound. We should go.” The four of them had barely stepped into an alley when they heard a faint clicking noise. The clicks started to get faster and louder until it was continuous. They watched where the noise was coming from, frozen as a large, circular shape darted past the entrance to the alleyway. 

Schneep's eyes widened. “Vhat ze hell was zhat?!” Another few moments passed, and they heard loud yelling coming from the direction the object went. Bright lights flashed into the sky, and a scream echoed over the streets. Jackie's mouth gaped for a moment before he turned to the rest of his teammates. 

“Come on!” A crackle of energy seemed to come into his legs as he sped off after all the noise, leaving a red and blue blur. 

Chase groaned. “Forgot he could do that. No wonder he wasn't tired.” Chase opened his hand and summoned his grappling gun, aiming it at the top of the alley. He shot up and into the sky, leaving Marvin and Schneep behind. Marvin grinned as he snapped his fingers, making a spark. The butterflies on his cape shifted to create a magic circle that glowed. Marvin untied the garment and threw one end into the air. It caught the wind and pulled Marvin up by his arm. He waved down at Schneep as his transportation yanked him out of the alley.

“I vill not be upstaged by zhat fucking fairy magic!! Asshole!” Schneep bent down and pressed the buttons on his boots, bending his knees as they powered up. Then, he sprinted towards the wall and jumped off of it. He bounced between the walls until he was out of the alley, using his boots to propel himself over buildings and around obstacles. The doctor saw Jackie's blur move between the streets, and looked forward to see the light that all of them were heading for. There were flashes of all different colors along with the now harsher clicking noises. People were using their powers to fight whatever they had seen, Schneep figured. Jackie's voice came through his earpiece as he jumped.

“That thing left a lot of destruction in its path. I'm being slowed down a lot to make sure people are ok.” 

Chase's voice came through, and Schneep could hear the grappling hook being reeled in in the background. “I'm getting pretty close to the commotion. From the sound of things, it's not organic. Could be an android or a robot. Stay sharp, guys, more vigilantes are showing up to kill this thing. We don't wanna get recognized again.”

Marvin's spoke this time, his breathing heavy and labored. “Maybe Jamie'll show.” He seemed to let out a cry of pain, then his voice cut out. 

Schneep stumbled in surprise, regaining his balance as he put his finger to his ear. “Marvin? Vhat happened?”

Marvin answered back quickly. “Nothing. It's just my arm.”

Schneep rolled his eyes. “How about using a less extra way to get around, eh? Don't make me have to reset your shouldah.”

Marvin laughed softly. “Ok, doc.” Schneep nodded as he jumped over another alley. The flashes of light we're getting closer, and he adjusted his gloves in preparation. Suddenly, the area quieted. All of the flashing stopped, and the clicking noise disappeared. Schneep's earpiece lit up.

“Whoa. You guys seeing this?”

“The streets went dark. I'm running blind, here!”

“What the fuck just happened?” Schneep stopped. He looked around and saw a taller structure in the style of a pagoda. 

He pressed his earpiece. “Everyone. Regroup under zhe building vith zhe curved roof. Ve don't vant to get separated in a city ve don't know.” There were two affirmatives before Chase answered.

“Hey it's gonna take me a few minutes to get over there. I'm pretty far away but I see it.” 

Schneep nodded as he dropped down into the street beside the building. “Good. We'll vait for you zhere.” Schneep leaned against the wall and disengaged his boots. Jackieboy zoomed up to him, stomping quickly to put out the small fire he had made. Next, Marvin floated down between buildings and put his cape back on. Marvin was barely on the ground before they began to hear the clicking again. It started slow but soon began to go faster and faster. 

Jackie looked around wildly. “I can't see it. Where is it?!”

Schneep shook his head. “I don't know! But stay togethah!” The three of them stood back to back, watching the darkness carefully. Suddenly, the black mass was looming in front of them. It began to circle them, whirring and clicking as it seemed to examine them. It reared back and turned its head to the side as its clicking silenced. Then, the clicking came back with a fervor as it bounced up and down in the air. Marvin's ear twitched. He turned around to see that the dark form of a person had emerged, and they stood watching their group. He tugged on Jackie and Schneep, pointing.

Jackie stepped forward. “Show yourself!” The machine turned on a spotlight from its eye, lighting up the area and the mystery person. He pulled up the pair of goggles that had been over his eyes, smiling at their little group. Jackie faltered, falling back half a step. “Jamie?!” 

“Whoa! Sam!” Schneep and Jackie turned around at Marvin's exclamation. The robot whirred and clicked several times, vibrating as Marvin began to pet him. 

Schneep looked between their old mascot and Jamie. “Sean let you have Sam?”

Jamie nodded, stepping closer to the group as his hands talked for him. “Jack gave him to me when I came to visit. He said that Sam was just another bad memory.” Jamie pushed through the group to pet the giant eye. “I decided to… modify him a bit.” 

Marvin brushed some hair out of his eyes. “I'll say. What's all that clicking?” 

Jamie turned to Marvin, shrugging. “I created a language for him so that he can tell me what he sees. I can hear him speaking from a mile away on a good night.” 

Jackie glanced down at Jamie's suit, whistling a bit. “You really changed up your look. Didn't know our sunshine child had all this darkness in him.” 

Jamie bowed. “I needed to match my reputation.” His hands paused in their flurry of movement, as he looked around. “Sam said he saw Chase, too. Where is he?” 

Schneep shrugged. “Let me see.” He pressed his earpiece. “Hey, Chase. Ve found Jamie. Vhere are you?” 

Chase's voice rang in all their ears, “That’s awesome! I'm almost there!” 

The doctor nodded. “He'll be here in a moment, Jamie.” The mute hero smiled, reaching up to pet Sam again as they waited. Soon enough Chase swung into the street, eyes lighting up at the sight of their old teammate. He ran forward and practically tackled Jamie in a hug, smiling wide. They pulled away and Chase shook his head. He opened his mouth to speak but noticed Jamie was looking at him weirdly. The mute hero furrowed his brows as he looked into Chase's eyes. He frowned, leaning closer as Chase laughed awkwardly.

“Uh, Jamie? What's-” Jamie put a finger to Chase's lips, grabbing his chin and tilting Chase's face to be more in Sam's light. Then, Jamie's eyes widened. He grabbed Chase's wrists roughly in one hand, and pulled his pocket watch out of his belt in the other. Jamie swung the watch out wide, snapping his fingers. Chase's eyes flicked out to it and Jamie moved the watch back in, making sure Chase's attention was caught. Then, he signed a single word.

“Bookshelf.” Chase's body went stiff as his eyes closed. Jamie turned around to astonished looks from the rest of his team. 

“Did you just hypnotize Chase? Jamie? What the hell, man?!” Jackie yelled indignantly. 

Jamie ignored this, jumping forward and signing the word, “Cataract.” Jackie's head slumped down and his next retort was lost as Jamie moved onto Schneep, dodging his pair of fingers. “Sanctuary.” The doctor fell forward and Jamie caught him and lowered him to the ground. 

Marvin stepped back, holding his cards out threateningly. “I don't know what the fuck got into you Jamie but you can't use a trigger on me. I've never been hypnotized by you.” Marvin gulped as Jamie's watch swang lazily from his fingers.

Jamie paused for a moment, shaking his head with a sad smile. “I've hypnotized everyone, Marvin.” Jamie stuffed his watch in his pocket. “Suffocate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! Tell me who has your favorite Powers so far!
> 
> Have a lovely day. <3


	7. Hypno Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie is very suspicious of this whole thing. But "Chase" clears it up for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter done! How are you liking it? Who's your favorite? Have any idea what the villain's plan is?
> 
> Have a lovely day, everyone. <3

Chase awoke with a start, finding himself sitting in a chair. He found his head thick with fog, and as he looked around he saw that the others were still asleep. Jamie stood in front of him, now in a white collared shirt with a blue vest over it. His watch dangled from his hip, and Chase firmly decided that he wasn't going to look at it. 

“Do you remember being hypnotized before, Chase?” Jamie's face was serious. Chase tried to move his arms, but found that he could not. He looked down, but there was nothing binding him to the chair he was in. He tried to get up, but his legs wouldn't budge. He looked back up to Jamie, who raised an eyebrow. “Chase. I need you to focus. There is something very wrong scratching just behind your consciousness but I couldn't get it out. Were you under someone else's control recently?” 

Chase gaped. “No! The only person who's ever hypnotized me was you!” 

Jamie pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. “That's probably all that you remember, but from the way you looked, you had someone messing around in there.” Jamie sat on the edge of a table behind him, and he let his hands rest on his lap for a moment before he continued to sign, “Chase, somebody was getting into some of your really personal things, like your insecurities and your fears. And when you escaped their control they left something behind. I'm fairly sure it's a trigger but I can't find it.” Jamie took a deep breath. “As your friend, I'm trying to help you. Do you remember anything?” 

Chase shook his head, and tried to move harder. “I have no idea what you're talking about! I haven't been hypnotized in years!” He tried to summon a weapon but found that his powers didn't seem to be working either. Jamie sighed, walking over to the others. He tapped something out on each of their shoulders. Marvin woke up first, his head snapping up to look around. When he saw Jamie standing in front of him he tried to jump out of the chair.

When the magician couldn't seem to move any of his limbs, he let out a string of curses directed at the mute hero. “Fucking asshole! When the hell did you manage to hypnotize me and give me a trigger?! I never said you could do any of that!”

Jamie rolled his eyes, examining his nails before he signed. “You never said I couldn't, either.” While Marvin kept trying to get out of his chair, Jackie woke up. 

“What the fuck?” Jackie felt phantom bonds keeping him to his chair, and tried to use his strength to break free. Instead of his power flowing into his muscles, he felt them go numb. He progressively got more and more frantic as he tried to move, though his body didn't budge one inch. Schneep woke last. When he saw that the others weren't having any luck with their own bodies, he resigned himself, glaring at Jamie with a fire in his eyes.

When the mute saw that all of them were up, he slid off the desk and stood in front of them. “Why did all of you come to Japan? Did someone send you to kill me?” 

Jackie shook his head. “Are you joking?! We're trying to find Sean!”

Jamie's expression hardened. “So that's what you want? Well, he trusted me with his base's location and I'm not gonna just give it away!” 

Marvin, who was still fighting against his own body, spoke up. “What do you mean?! We're his teammates! We need his help because Anti is missing!”

Jamie's hands moved slowly as he glared at Chase. “I don't know if I believe that.” Chase paled at the sight of Jamie's furious expression. “What are the odds that you would just show up here and have someone else's program inside your head? A program that I can't seem to get to and one that Chase doesn't remember?” Marvin, Jackie, and Schneep looked at each other.

“Vhat do you mean, Jamie? Vhat program?” Jamie glanced at Schneep suspiciously.

“From what I can tell, Chase was recently put under trance. The person who put him under accessed a lot of his personal fears and anxieties, then left this big chunk of data that can only be accessed by a trigger.” 

Marvin finally stopped struggling, nodding excitedly. “Chase was mind controlled by Anti earlier!”

Jamie blinked in surprise. “What?”

Jackie nodded. “Yeah! We've been looking for Sean because Anti was captured! He's been attacking us with knives and shit and he did something to Chase to attack us, too!” 

Jamie began to swing his watch absentmindedly, then realised the effect it was having on the others and stopped. “What did he say to Chase to get him to attack?”

Marvin felt an itch on his arm, sighing when he couldn't scratch it. “He said a lot of things… but it was mainly about... holding the team back?” Chase sucked in a sudden breath, his eyes going dull. Jamie walked over to Chase and bent over, examining his irises as they faded darker and darker until they went full black. Then, Chase jerked violently in his seat, laughing and giggling uncontrollably. He seemed to finally see Jamie in front of him and he stopped, a wide smile going across his face.

“Oh!! OH!!! Hello! So that's what the Watchman looks like under the mask! I could recognize that mustache anywhere.” Chase tried to move and looked down, realizing his predicament. “Oh, you must have me under your spell! Wow…” He closed his eyes for a second, then opened them. “And you've somehow suppressed Bro Average's powers! How in the world do you manage that?” Chase began to giggle again, glancing around the room. “It's really too bad I can't see any tech. Anti could be here in a hot second and snatch you up for me!” Chase looked down at the others, making them shiver. “Awe the gang’s all here!” Chase frowned. “Except for your fearless leader.” He turned back to Jamie. “Is he nearby? No one's seen him in forever and I'd love to get a sneak peak! I hope he's as dreamy as ever...” He dissolved into another fit of crazed giggles. “Oh this is going better than I'd ever hoped! You guys are really doing it! You've been working together again and fighting and winning and-!!! You're here!!” Chase’s wide grin diminished as he sighed. “Can I see more of your powers, Watchman? We never got to see any of you, and you were always one of my favorites. No one ever deciphered how you tick.” Chase barked out a laugh at his accidental play on words, throwing his head back. “Ahahaha! Tick! Get it?! Because clocks and watches and time?!”

Jamie's mouth curled into a look of disgust. “How are you able to-”

“Ooh!!!” Chase's eyes lit up. “Sign language! So you really can't speak english, huh? Some people said it was a gimmick.” He giggled. “I believed you, though.” He paused, seeming to think. “Also I have no idea what you're saying. So. If you could maybe get Jackieboy Man or someone to translate that would be great.” Chase gasped, as if a thought just hit him, “Wait! Did all of you have to learn sign language to talk to him? That's so cute!” 

Jamie just glared at Chase, signing to the others as he babbled on. “They’ve got a remote link to his mind. This is a very advanced trance state. And I have no idea how they got him to focus enough to get him into it. This villain must be a very strong telepath if they can set up shop like this and just control him with the trigger.” Jamie grit his teeth, shaking his head. “How long ago did they put Chase under?” 

Jackie shrugged, thinking. “About three hours until you caught us.” Jamie nodded in satisfaction, walking over to stand in front of Chase again. The mute hero stood still for a moment, before all the color in the room changed to hues of sepia. All the other heroes froze in place as time stopped, leaving only Jamie and Chase free. 

Chase gaped, looking around. “Whoa!” Jamie pulled off one of his gloves. He grabbed Chase's arm with the free hand, making him frown. “Wait. What's happening?” Jamie pulled out his watch and began to wait until the second hand reached zero. Chase started to struggle again, but his body stayed stubborn. “Stop! No! I'm not leaving! Stop!” He glared up at Jamie's eyes, trying to bring the confident grin back onto his face. “I know about you, too!” Jamie raised an eyebrow. “Yeah! You were always the unheard one! The one that everyone discounted and ignored!” Jamie frowned, and Chase's voice rose even higher with emotion. “Even when you took Anti's side and made the vote 4 to 3 Sean STILL chose otherwise! You meant NOTHING in the group's decisions and you never got to choose anything for yourself!” Chase heaved in a breath. “You know I'm right!” Jamie looked into Chase's eyes, smiling sadly. Chase’s voice decreased into a scarily calm, knowing confidence yet again. “You know I'm right.” Jamie looked down. Then he looked up again, nodding slowly, making Chase's eyes light up. “Now say it!” The words had fallen out of Chase's mouth due to sheer habit. His face paled as he realized the complications of the situation. Jamie glanced down at his watch, then looked back up again. He smiled, shaking his head.

Then, Chase was gone. Jamie watched as Chase's mouth opened and closed rapidly and his head moved in weird patterns. His past shells pulsed off of him as Chase's body moved back in time. Ghosts of other people flashed in and out of view, with Chase reacting in reverse. Jamie saw himself once, but most of the time it was one of the others. There was a period where Chase seemed to be asleep, followed by Marvin very close to his face, blowing his dust into it. Here, Jamie began to slow it down, watching the ghosts of the others dodge Chase's attacks. Then, Jamie saw Anti. He slowed the movement even more, watching in reverse and hearing as Anti broke down Chase's walls little by little until he was ripe for manipulation. Jamie kept going until Anti was out of view, before grabbing that Chase's arm and dragging him forward, past all of the fighting and into the present. Jamie unfroze time and the untainted Chase slammed into his own body with a bang. He breathed heavily, looking around wildly at everyone in the room.

“What the actual fuck just happened to me?!”

 

Hero Profile: The Mute Watchman  
True Name: Unknown  
Affiliation(s): The Septiceyes, The Sanders Sides  
Colors: Dark Blue, Black, White  
Powers/Abilities: The Mute Watchman Is Able To Manipulate Time To A Great Extent. No One Knows How Powerful He Really Is, But Most Agree That He Can Freeze Time. He Has Also Been Known To Reverse Injuries In People By Bringing Their Past Self To The Present, Though This Power Seems To Have A Limit Of Six Hours. The Watchman Can Also Hypnotize People Very Easily, Though It Is Not Known Whether This Is A Superpower Or Just Learned Skill.


	8. Dreams and More Important Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvin realizes that he still hasn't changed. He decides to start being less of an asshole, immediately.

After Jamie had released everyone and they had explained everything to Chase all over again, the mute hero had recommended that everyone get some rest. He would take everyone to Sean in the morning. Marvin yawned as he sat his cape in the corner. He started to pull off his undershirt, frowning as he felt his arm tingle in the chilly air. He looked down and sighed, remembering the cut that anti that gave him that sliced open his sleeve. Maybe Jamie could repair it in the morning. Marvin took the shirt off and glanced down at the thin wound. He couldn’t see much in the dark, but it didn’t look infected. He untied his boots and left them by the bed, deciding to keep his sweatpants on. As Marvin lay under the covers, he found himself feeling hotter and hotter. He scratched at his arm, throwing the blanket off of him. He stared at the ceiling, watching as it seemed to shift.

Marvin blinked, and it went back to normal. The hero rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. How much sleep did he get again? He closed his eyes, determined to get some rest. He didn’t know if it was five minutes or five seconds, but suddenly he heard a noise. Marvin jumped up, glancing around the room. He heard whispering and movement on the other side of the door. Marvin jumped off the bed and walked over to the door, opening it a crack. Outside his room was not Jamie’s base, but a wide open cityscape that seemed to be the victim of a villain attack. Marvin gulped. 

So this was a dream, then. He had explored his dreams before. He was pushed out of his room by a strange force. When he turned around, the door was gone. Marvin looked up into the sky. Was this the past? Or the future? Suddenly, Jackieboy Man flew past him. He landed next to Marvin in the rubble, putting his finger to his ear.

“Hey guys. I’ve taken care of most of uptown. What about you?” 

“Just finishing up over here.” Chase appeared, several feet away from Jackie. 

“Zhe lower city iz cleared!” Schneep appeared on the opposite side, looking into the air.

A series of beeps played over the intercom as Jamie appeared, speaking to the rest of the team in morse code. “Done.”

Anti glitched into existence, filling up an open space. “I’ve handled my section. Sean? Marvin?”

Sean appeared next to his brother, completing the circle that Marvin’s teammates had made. “I did a sweep. Everything seems taken care of.”

Marvin appeared in the center of the circle, laughing. “Well I handled my section! And I did another sweep for good measure, so you didn’t have to do that, Sean.” The real Marvin winced. He had long tried to distance himself from the pompous asshole he used to be, but sometimes he felt he wasn’t making progress. The past Marvin continued, “Also, I picked out a rendezvous point. You should see it on your HUD. You’re welcome, everyone.” The past Marvin crumbled to dust as he started running away. 

Marvin walked around the circle, watching his teammates reactions. Jamie sighed, rolling his eyes as he began to walk forward. He turned to dust as well. Chase just chuckled, shaking his head as he answered back,

“Thanks, Marv.” Chase crumbled as he was being pulled away by his grappling hook. 

“...Fucking prick.” Jackie’s loud reaction caught Marvin’s attention as he crouched down to take off. He jumped into the air and exploded into dust as well. Marvin watched as Anti began to laugh. Schneep grumbled something in German, but Marvin couldn't hear what he said as he turned to dust 

“What an ass!” Anti crumbled right where he stood, leaving only Sean. Marvin walked up to him and studied his face as he sighed. 

“Come on, dude.” Sean shook his head. “You're a hero. You gotta do better.” Sean paused, and Marvin felt as if their leader were looking straight at him.

Marvin gulped, answering Sean. “I am better. I promise.” Sean’s neutral look vanished as he stared Marvin down. The environment of the dream disappeared, leaving a black space.

Sean’s voice echoed over the emptiness as he too crumbled to dust, “Do you really believe that?” Marvin gasped as he began to fall down, down, down into the black abyss. He braced himself. Marvin watched as his room came into view. He fell back into his body and he shot up, glancing around to find that it was morning and his blankets were all over the floor. Marvin moved quickly, sliding out of his bed. As soon as his feet hit the ground Marvin wobbled. He placed his hand on the wall to steady himself and cried out in pain. The hero looked down. He gasped quietly at the sight. From his cut, green and black tendrils had crawled down his arm and up his neck. Marvin walked over to the mirror after he had regained his balance. He turned around and saw that the horrible markings had made their way down his shoulder blade and to the middle of his back. 

Marvin wanted to cry out to the others but the words caught on his tongue. He thought back to his fight with Jackie and all the times he had been an extra little baby. It was no wonder that his teammates thought of him that way. He hadn’t improved at all! He had thought that he was getting better, and was even proud of the progress that he was making. But now Marvin saw that he had been lying to himself. He needed to try harder to not be an asshole. And it started with not crying about every little thing. 

He resigned himself, turning away from the mirror. It didn’t look that serious, anyway. Marvin had gotten countless scars from some of his spells that looked exactly like it. He huffed in annoyance at the cut in his shirt. It was such a small thing. Why would he waste Jamie’s time patching it up? Marvin pulled on the rest of his costume and walked out into the common area, where Jamie was making breakfast. Jamie greeted him warmly, and Schneep raised up a steaming cup of coffee.

“Zhe bean juice is good! Join me!” Schneep laughed as he turned back to Jamie. “I am only kidding. I know you prefer-”

“I’ll have some.” Marvin walked up and grabbed an empty mug, reaching for the coffee pot. 

Jamie stopped Marvin, shaking his head. “I can make tea for you. Would you like me to?” 

Marvin paused, before grabbing the pot and pouring himself a cup. “It’s fine. No need to keep you from your job.” Marvin turned around and walked quickly out of the room, sipping from the mug every now and then. Schneep watched as Marvin’s face contorted. The doctor knew that coffee was definitely something Marvin didn’t enjoy. He never turned down tea. Jamie stared after Marvin for a moment, before turning back to Schneep.

“Maybe his tastes have changed.” Jamie put his hands back to work on the food. Schneep kept his eyes trained on the empty doorway for a moment longer, before shrugging.

“Maybe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are enjoying the story! Please tell me what you like, or what theories you may have.
> 
> Have a lovely day! <3


	9. Cat Scan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am super happy about all the lovely comments there are! Thank you so much for liking my fic!
> 
> Please take care of yourselves, and have a lovely day! <3

After everyone had their share of food, Jamie sat them down in the tiny living room. He sat in an armchair, playing with his fingers for a bit before he was ready to speak. “Sean got it a lot worse than the rest of us. When the team broke up the government wasn’t very happy with him. Sean thinks that they really wanted to get to some of the other members of the team who hadn't agreed to getting licences. Sean came to me a few years after everything happened and said that the feds were on his tail.” Jamie paused. “He also told me an independent entity was very interested in my hypnotism abilities and that I needed to get out of the country.” Jamie glanced up, noticing that Marvin seemed to be staring at the wall.

Jackie nodded. “So that’s why you went to Japan.” 

Jamie looked away from Marvin, smiling lightly. “Yes. Sean helped me come over here and helped me make this base. Afterwards, he left for Ireland.”

Schneep gaped. “Sean vent home? Vhy?”

Jamie shook his head. “He had gotten his licence but they wanted him to do something… more for them.” Chase and Jackie looked at each other. “Sean realized his mistake too late and really messed some things up. They were catching up with him by the time he left. But he made a clean getaway. The US probably thinks he’s still within their borders.” Jamie stared at the floor. “He felt guilty about everything. He really wanted to fix things with Anti.” He paused, hands suspended in the air, “But he never did.” The group contemplated sadly, shaking their heads.

Chase spoke up, glancing around the room. “How are we gonna get to Ireland?” Jamie grinned, standing up from his seat and clicking his tongue in an advanced pattern. Sam came barreling around the corner in response, knocking over furniture and several of his teammates in his wake. Sam chirped and clicked happily as Jamie smiled. He patted Sam slowly, before facing the rest of the room again. 

“Sean being Sean, his base is protected by a lot of things.” Jamie opened an invisible panel on Sam using a small key, and typed in a code on the keypad that was hidden inside. Sam's optic went dark for a moment, before it lit up again, projecting a holographic image. The others approached, staring at the picture as it began to clear. “While his physical base is in Ireland, the entrance to it jumps around.” The hologram straightened out and everyone recognized it as a map of the African continent. A bright dot was flashing over what looked like Egypt. “And Sam is the only one who can access it at any given time.”

Schneep groaned. “Ah. Of courze it iz in fucking Africa. I already get burnt to a crisp in normal conditions!” Marvin let out a loud chuckle, before he quieted himself quickly. Suddenly, Sam began to chirp again. His hologram fizzled out of existence, then it lit up with different colors. 

Chase stepped back. “What's happening?!”

Jamie squinted as he tilted his head to the side. “I think the location is moving again. But that doesn't make any sense.” Everyone leaned in as it became clearer and clearer. “Unless…Sean knows Sam was accessed.” Jamie's eyes widened as it finally came into focus. “He moved the entrance to right here!” Just as his hands stopped moving, a huge hole opened up underneath Sam. Jamie, who was standing the closest, was swallowed up by it when his feet no longer had solid ground to stand on. Jackie jumped in after him, leaving only Chase, Marvin, and Schneep as they looked in. They looked at each other as Sam chirped at them inquisitively. Then, the robot smacked them with his tail. They fell in and Chase screamed, looking up to see Sam following them down the hole with a mischievous glint in his optic. 

All five heroes fell onto soft yellow flowers. They looked up at the metal walls of Sean's base, watching as the hole closed above them. Marvin touched one of the walls, glancing at the dark green hues beginning to creep over his shirt collar in his reflection. Marvin shook off his uneasy feeling, speaking uncharacteristically quietly, “How long did it take Sean to code this place? I recognize the fall from Undertale but this area merged flawlessly.”

Jamie just shook his head, checking his pockets to make sure he had all of his tools. “I have no idea. I have a feeling that this base was supposed to be for the team. He was definitely working on it for awhile.” Jamie walked forward and pressed his gloved hand to the door. There was a loud whirring noise, and then the large door began to rise up into the ceiling. Sam seemed to perk up, his clicking getting loud for a moment before he flew past the rest of the team and into the darkness on the other side of the door. Sam's clicking silenced. Then, Sean stepped out and into the light. Like Chase, Schneep, and Jamie, Sean's hair was brown again. He pulled down the bandana that was around his face, frowning.

“Why?” Sean frowned at the mix of faces in front of him. “Ugh. Just come on. I can't be bothered to throw you out just yet.” He turned around and vanished into the other room. The others followed slowly, watching in awe as the lights began to turn on. They seemed to be inside Sean's workshop. The entire room was lined with technology from every possible game they could think of. Lots of the tech was plugged into computers, where Sean altered their makeup as needed. He pointed to an empty space away from the equipment, his voice sounding shaky. “Stand there. I've got some pretty vulnerable code around here that I can't have any of you infecting.” Sean glanced down at his wrist screen as the five of them stood next to each other. With his free hand, he grabbed a scanner off the table next to him. This one seemed to be from Subnautica. He scanned all of them, his eyebrows furrowing at the results. He looked up, distrust clear in his eyes. “Marvin?” The magician flinched at his name. “You've got some serious problems right now. What's up with your arm? Also, your brain waves are a bit off. Are you ok?” 

Marvin gulped at all the eyes on him. The voice in his head screamed at him to be silent. A good team member doesn't cause problems. A good team member doesn't get in the way. “I'm...I… I just-” Be careful, Marvin. They might start thinking things. You don't want them to reject you because of your awful attention seeking personality, right? You already ruined things once before, right Marvin? Marvin blinked, confused. That didn't sound like his own voice. “...What?” Marvin covered his ears as the creepiest giggle he had ever heard echoed around him. You were always the rude asshole. In fact, you still are. I am right. Admit that I'm right. Marvin snapped back to reality. The others had stepped away from him in fear. He opened his mouth to say that there was something wrong but his own arm betrayed him. He clapped his hand over his mouth, eyes widening when he found he couldn't pull it away. Marvin swayed on his feet, feeling dizzier and dizzier as he felt his throat constrict. Then, he felt a sudden pain in his chest and a sharp stinging at the back of his head. Marvin's arm fell limp at his side, and his eyes rolled back as they tried to focus on the rifle in Sean's hands.


	10. Fun and Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simply put, Sean is pissed.

Marvin woke up slowly, seeing trees above him. He felt cold. He crawled to his feet, looking around. He seemed to be in a wooded forest, and it was night. Snow was up to his knees, making Marvin shiver. Suddenly, he heard Sean's voice echoing around him. 

“Now I normally wouldn't handle things like this, but since you've been playing Marvin for hours now without any of these fools noticing, I've decided to give you the “fuck you” treatment.” Marvin heard a distant scream and his blood went cold. Sean chuckled. “Do you play any games, Marvin?” He spit out Marvin's name with a sneer. “Because I'm going to show a couple to you today.” 

Marvin's eyes went wide. He looked up into the sky and tried to speak. He found his throat go tight, and he began to cough as the voice in his head returned. See what happens when you act like an asshole? They seem to think you aren't their teammate anymore. After Marvin had stopped coughing he pulled down his collar. Instead of thin black and green tendrils crawling up his neck, he found thick, twisting colors that wrapped around his throat like ropes. His left arm felt completely numb and he sensed more of the poison beginning to constrict his chest. Marvin tried to speak again but his entire throat closed as if someone were holding it in a vice-like grip. Oh, Marvin. You don't deserve to speak if you're just going to belittle your teammates or boast about your accomplishments. Marvin heard an unearthly screech come from deeper in the woods. 

“There's an easy way out of this, fake Marvin. Just tell me where our real teammate is and I'll let you go with minimal pain.” Marvin wracked his brain as he started to run. What game was this? What did Sean create for him this time? His left arm hung limply from his side as he skidded around a tree. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a grey shape flit in and out of view. Either out of pure instinct or luck, Marvin froze. Another screech came from the creature as it crawled out in front of him with inhuman speed. It was a wendigo. And this was Until Dawn. 

 

The others watched from outside the observation room as the imposter started running blindly through the woods. Jackie bit his lip anxiously. Despite the knowledge that this guy wasn't Marvin, the look of pure fear on his face was hard to shake off. Sean's running theory was that Marvin had been replaced in the night while they slept at Jamie's base. Schneep and Jamie had testified that he had been acting particularly strange that morning. It bothered Jackie that he hadn't noticed. Granted, Marvin had barely said a word the whole day, so there wasn't much chance to see anything strange. But all the same, Jackie still felt that something just wasn't quite right. 

 

Marvin came upon a stretch of path. He looked both ways, before deciding to follow it up. He racked his brain for knowledge of the area. He hadn't ever played this game. But he'd watched Sean play it. Once. He heard another wendigo, and froze in place. At least he still remembered that. 

“You seem to know how they work, at least. But I know someone else who has more sophisticated AI, who won't be tricked that easily.” Marvin watched as the world pulsed for a moment. Then, lines of code began to stack on top of each other. Sean was creating something else. Marvin didn't wait to see what it was. He sprinted past the shimmering blue building blocks, and continued up the path. His breathing was beginning to get heavy as a tomahawk splintered into the tree next to him. Marvin turned around to see a masked Josh, mumbling incoherent words as he readied another axe to throw. 

Marvin put his uninjured hand up, drawing a sloppy magic circle and tapping it once. It sparked brightly, then lit up with a bright glow. Josh cried out, covering his eyes as he was blinded. Marvin kept running, glancing behind him frantically as he fully realized the reality of the situation. He couldn't speak. One of his arms was completely useless to him, limiting his circle drawing. And finally, Sean was pissed. Marvin ducked into the treeline again, running faster and faster until his legs couldn't carry him anymore. Despite his terror, Marvin sat down, leaning against a tree.

Sean chuckled. “Oh no no no. My enemies don't get any rest.” Everything around Marvin exploded into lines of code. “I'll admit, Until Dawn is pretty simple when you aren't limited by the character's point of view.” Marvin blinked and a whole new world appeared in front of his eyes. “But let's see how you'll handle this one.” 

Immediately, Marvin plunged into a dark black pool of thick liquid. He gasped for air, but the black liquid seemed to be forcing itself down his throat. It wasn't water. Marvin clawed for anything to grasp, and his good arm seemed to feel a wooden platform. He pulled himself out of the liquid and began to cough. As the black substance flowed out of his mouth Marvin could identify the taste. This was ink. Marvin stood to his feet slowly, looking around the area. He was no longer in open space. Instead, he was standing on a wooden path that rose above the gigantic pool of viscous ink beneath him. 

 

Schneep winced as Marvin coughed up ink. Schneep knew about this game, even playing it himself in his spare time. Bendy and the Ink Machine could sometimes be a tough nut to crack. But not altogether impossible. Sean was starting pretty easy with the imposter. Schneep shook his head. Sure, Sean had said his actual brain waves were different, but he still looked exactly like Marvin. Him creating a magic circle in front of them had caused the Doctor and a couple others to doubt what Sean was so adamant about. Marvin's power was very unique. Most likely one of a kind. Someone had to have complete copying ability for it to be possible to have Marvin's powers. And of the few villains who could do it, it was unlikely they'd be here. 

 

Marvin was struck with an idea. His fingers pulsed to life with sparks, and he began to write in the air. He had to be quick. There was no telling what the game could hold. “Can't speak. Poison got to my arm and throat.” Marvin stopped himself, glancing around as he heard a distant noise. He stared up into the air as his words dispersed. He turned back again, writing quicker as he heard the noise get closer and closer with increasing speed. “Sean there's a voice in my head.” Marvin shivered as the voice laughed. He moved to write again but his previously limp arm came to life, grabbing his wrist and shoving it down. Marvin suddenly couldn't breathe again. He heaved in gulps of air as his throat opened and closed tauntingly. Then, as quickly as it started, Marvin sucked in a deep breath. Try that again, vain one, and it'll be worse. Your selfish actions are no longer welcome. I thought you wanted to change. But I guess we'll have to beat your attitude out of that cute little head of yours with force. Marvin didn't have time to be horrified at the words coming into his head. He saw a distant light attached to the source of the noise, approaching the corner. Marvin began to run, his boots thumping harshly on the wooden boards.

 

Chase shivered at the words that Marvin drew in the air. “Sean there's a voice in my head.” He didn't want to feel sorry for the imposter before him, but it was getting harder not to. He watched as Marvin's own body seemed to turn against him, grabbing his writing arm and yanking it out of the air. Chase didn't remember when he was controlled by the villain, but he still empathized with what Marvin was going through. Chase kicked himself. Stop thinking that way. It isn't Marvin. He's a completely different person who stole their teammate's form. He had different brainwaves! Chase resigned himself, determined to only think of this person as their enemy.

 

Marvin ducked into another cabinet, letting out a pent-up breath when the dark ink creature with a vicious smile stalked by. He still didn't know what the game was. But from how many times his feet had gotten stuck, surely it had to do with ink. Marvin knew beating the game was impossible with Sean pulling the strings. So he just needed to survive. Marvin inched out of the cabinet. He looked both ways, before beginning to trudge through knee-deep ink. He passed several horrifying windows which held deformed bodies strewn in grotesque positions. He did his best to look away, opting instead to stare forward. 

Eventually, Marvin came to a four-way crossroads. He didn't know what to do next. There was no indication that any way was the right way, so he just started to go forward. But he had only gone a few feet when a thin, tall being with a projector for its face began to walk around the corner. As its light landed on him, it broke into a run, shambling at top speed toward the weary magician. Marvin scrambled back into the four way, choosing another direction randomly. But he was stopped here, too. The inky monster with the hideous smile limped around the next bend, an arm outstretched to catch him. Marvin turned around, and sure enough a third entity appeared, this time in the form of a mangled woman. Marvin moved to go back the way he had come but a wave of ink rose up, blocking him. 

“Now I don't think you want to get torn limb from limb.” Sean paused, chuckling as Marvin swiveled slowly. “So if you wanna tell me the information now, it would save you a lot of pain.” Marvin looked up again, gesturing to his throat. “You moved your arm back there for your little charade. I highly doubt that you can't speak.” Marvin shook his head, grunting slightly as he got to work on a circle to protect him from the oncoming danger. He put every ounce of effort he could into making his left arm muscles cooperate. By sheer force of will, he got his fingers to move in the pattern he needed as the circle lit up the cramped space. All the while, Marvin heard the degrading voice in his head repeat over and over that he was an asshole, a self-absorbed bitch who only did things for himself. 

Marvin finished the circle just in time, wincing as the three horrible creatures crashed into the wall of magic. Marvin was beginning to feel weaker. His spells were adding up, and he needed his strength if he was going to survive Sean's wrath. Even as he thought it, Sean's voice echoed around him.

“Well that's enough of that.” Sean sounded angry and aggressive. “If you just wanna keep playing pretend, that's fine. But I’m sending you to the worst hell I can think of.” Instantly, Marvin's surroundings dispersed into lines of code, making the magician even more fearful. He had heard Sean say that before. He knew where he was going. 

 

Jamie raised an eyebrow. Originally, he had proposed that he could “interrogate” the imposter. It wouldn't be much of an interrogation, with Jamie's power for getting into people's heads. But Sean had shot him down. It seemed their leader was still a little suspicious of everything. And he had every right to be. Jamie watched as a palpable darkness formed around the fake Marvin. He remembered this particular training ground. It was one of Sean's favorite games. This boss battle had him stumped for days, and as a result Sean had an inescapable curiosity for it. He spent long nights trying to replicate it in a 3D environment, standing for hours in a training room clearing his mind enough to see the battle. Sean had memorized every detail. Every single attack. And the end result of all his hard work was the gauntlet. The soul-crushing, morale breaking, final piece of training that the entire team attempted to complete. But none of them could ever do it. Jamie smiled at the memory of Sean clapping him on the back, assuring Jamie that he could do it next time. Then, the mute hero frowned. This person who was taking Marvin's place was in for a beating. And, as Jamie sneaked a glance at Sean, he feared that this unfortunate soul may not make it out alive.

 

Marvin tried to steady his breathing as his soul formed in front of him. It was gold. Like your flashy, destructive personality! Marvin pushed away the thought quickly. Then, Sans’ code loaded. Marvin looked down. Sean had decided to let the “player” go first, letting them choose what to do to officially start the fight. He didn't have any items, and acting was unavailable. The two buttons in front of him were large and daunting. “Fight” or “Mercy.” Marvin gulped, his hand suspended in air. Usually, he would choose mercy. His goal used to be to just reach the end. But, Marvin felt his chances dwindling. If they hadn't realized it was actually him by now, then they weren't going to recognize him later. He glanced back up at Sans. He just needed to hit him once. 

Marvin pressed Fight. He threw his arms forward, and several metal cards escaped from his sleeves. They twisted around the enclosed space like boomerangs, cutting through the air where Sans used to be standing. Sans teleported to the other side of the room and the cards clattered to the ground harmlessly. Marvin felt his heart rate spike. Sans forced Marvin's soul down, taking his body with it. Marvin nudged his soul back up just in time as the bones emerged from the ground. Marvin maneuvered himself through the small space between the next attack and dodged all of Sans’ blasters. Marvin landed, breathing heavily. 

The first beats of Megalovania started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please take time for yourselves or get sleep, ok? Have a lovely day! <3


	11. Imposter

Marvin was very close to passing out. His long hair had fallen out of its ponytail long ago, matting to his sweaty face and blocking his vision. He held his chest, where a bone had just narrowly missed him. It had sliced through the front of his white button up, almost chopping his left arm off in the process. There was a second tear where it had gone through his sleeve, exposing the darkened veins. Marvin had stopped trying to fight long ago. It was no use tiring himself out even more. He weakly raised his hand and rested it on the Mercy button. The sound effect echoed in his ears, the drums of Megalovania all but non-existent in Marvin's focused mind. Marvin realized with a start that Sans’ attack had began. He narrowly dodged two of his bones but was struck by the third, screaming when it burrowed itself into his shoulder. Marvin was thrown back by the impact, and he was just able to roll out of the way of a gaster blaster.

Marvin looked down at the projectile sticking out of his shoulder. He saw the blood rushing down and staining his clothes. His vision began to swim, and he saw double for a moment before blinking the dizziness away. He stood to his feet. Marvin reached out and pressed Mercy. He swayed as his mind registered the attack weakly. He had barely moved when the blast hit him full force, throwing him off of his feet and smashing him into the adjacent wall. Marvin slid down the cracked surface as he felt something warm bubbling up in his throat. He coughed, and gagged at the taste of blood. Marvin sat limp for a moment, head falling to the side. His eyes focused on his hand. His fingers twitched. They twitched again. He needed to talk to Sean. To convince him. What could he do...? Marvin thought briefly to the sparks he had written in the air. No. That… that wasn't it.

Marvin pressed himself against the wall, and tried to get to his feet. He cried out in pain, slumping back to the floor. His eyes almost rolled back right then and there but Marvin forced himself to stay awake. He drunkenly brought his bloody hand in front of his eyes. He formed a fist, then unclenched his hand slowly. That looked like something important, he reminded himself. He moved his thumb to rest on his pinky, then closed his fist again. A far-off thought pricked him again. Then, it came rushing forward as his eyes widened. M. He was signing the letter M. 

Marvin struggled to get to his feet with more purpose this time. He dragged his knees forward and sat up, slowly. Then he put one foot forward and attempted to stand. He heaved to one side as his balance plummeted, but Marvin won the small battle. He stood up straight. What was he doing again? Marvin looked down. Oh. Right. He lifted up his hand and signed slowly.

“M A U V I M.” He stopped. He repeated the sign. “M A U V I M.” That was not correct. He did it again, trying to let habit take over his clouded mind. “M A R V I N.” Marvin stopped. He looked down at the two buttons before him once again. He looked up. “H E L P M E P L E A S E.” He barely got to finish, as his left arm attacked his other, twisting his wrist at a poor angle. STOP TRYING TO TALK TO THEM. Marvin froze. YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE ON THE TEAM. YOU'RE NOTHING. YOUR ATTITUDE IS JUST LIKE A VILLAIN'S. Marvin tried to pull his other arm away from the iron grasp of his left. But his left arm was completely out of control. As was his throat. Marvin was yet again constricted as he felt someone pressing down on his chest. He stumbled to the side, falling to the ground as his vision began to go completely dark. 

 

“Whoa! Sean!” Chase ran to the window as Marvin signed something in the air. The rest of the team surged forward, squinting through the blackness as Marvin signed again. 

“M A U V I M.” 

Jackie swiveled on Sean, pointing. “He just signed his name! He knows sign language! It's Marvin, Sean!”

Sean shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Anyone can learn a few letters in sign.” Sean and the others went silent as Marvin paused once more.

“M A R V I N.” 

Schneep began to beat on the glass. “Fucking hell anyvone can learn! Zhat's him! And he's been poisoned by somezhing!” Marvin looked down, painfully slow. Then he looked up again, his body swaying slightly.

“H E L P M E P L E A S E.” The entire team cried out, redoubling their efforts to get to Marvin. Sean just shook his head adamantly. Then, Marvin snatched his own arm, bringing it down out of their view. He fell down again, his chest heaving with no results. Then, he was frighteningly still.

Schneep looked up at Marvin's vital signs that were displayed on the glass. “He's flatlining! Sean even if zhis isn't Marvin, you need to keep him ahlive!”

Sean screamed, his voice uncharacteristically high, “NO I DON'T!” He banged his fist on the motherboard and the next attack began, with Marvin laying prone, unable to stop it.

Chase turned around frantically. “JAMIE! DO SOMETHING!”

The Mute hero nodded, and immediately the sepia glow shot out from his feet, covering everything. Sans’ attack stopped in mid air-just inches away from Marvin's body. Everyone else froze in place. Jamie walked forward slowly, approaching the frozen Sean. He reached around his still body, pressing something on the board. The glass next to him slid open, and Jamie stepped into the room. He walked over to Marvin, dragging him out of the way and into the clear. Then, time resumed again. The bones crashed into the floor, but Marvin was nowhere to be found. The others stilled for a moment, then ran into the room to help Jamie drag Marvin out. Once Marvin was on the ground Schneep shooed everyone away. He cut open Marvin's shirt to begin chest compressions, and almost froze at the inky black and green streaks covering his arm and throat.

“Jackie! Hold his head like zhis and vhen I say blow, breathe into Marvin's mouth!” He put his hands together and began to press hard on Marvin’s chest. Sean stepped down from the motherboard, breathing heavily. 

“You can't just save him just because he signed a couple letters! What if he's here to kill me?”

Chase pointed down at Marvin. “You think he can do ANYTHING right now?? Sean, respectfully, what the actual fuck?!” Sean just shook his head. He tried to lunge at Marvin, but Chase's gun appeared, trained on him. Sean stopped, looking between the weapon and his teammate on the ground. Before he could make his choice, Schneep shooed Jackie away.

“It’z been too long! I’m uzing my glovez!” Schneep clapped his hands together and made sure everyone was away from Marvin's body. “Cleah!” As his electrified gloves touched him, Marvin heaved in a huge breath.

“No!” Sean leapt forward, and Chase yelped in surprise,

“Jamie!” Jamie intercepted Sean, pushing him to the ground and signing a single word as he got his watch out.

“Campsite.” But Sean didn't fall into trance. He kicked wildly, throwing punches at Jamie's face. One of them connected to Jamie's chin, throwing him off. Sean scampered to his feet, backing away from the rest of his teammates as they drew their weapons. Jamie signed the word again. “Campsite.” Sean shook his head.

“I don't care what the scanner said, you're all fakes!! Somehow, you devils bred and came back to settle the score with him!” He froze, his face paling. “I-I mean-...me! Ugh!” He backed away, all pretence gone. “Fuck it! You'll never get to Sean when I'm here!” He turned around and smashed his fist into a screen on the wall. Instantly, all the lights went out. The rest of the team crowded together in the threatening darkness.

Unsurprisingly, this was not Sean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please have a lovely day, ok?


End file.
